What Wound Did Ever Heal But By Degrees
by Twilight Warrior 1994
Summary: Emery is the one pregnant. Now, she, Roman, and their friends must face the uncertain future.
1. Chapter 1

**_The moment a child is born,_**

**_the mother is also born._**

**_She never existed before._**

**_The woman existed, _**

**_but the mother, never._**

**_A mother is something absolutely new_**

**_Rajneesh_**

_We should have held out,_ Emery thought to herself. She was now eyeing her stomach in her bedroom mirror from every angle possible in darkness, her shirt pulled up to better display what might, in nine months, be rounded out with child.

That's right. Emery Whitehill was pregnant. Knocked up. In the family way. Well, maybe. If her third pregnancy test held the same positive result as its first two counterparts anyway.

_We should have just held out, _Emery thought again. The fear of the outcome was nearly paralyzing. Maybe you find it funny, but Emery, after all, had a damn good reason to be afraid. If she was pregnant, it was Roman's child that would be growing inside of her.

There were just too many signs to ignore now. First of all, there was her appetite. It had dramatically increased. Like, Emery was starting to have trouble remembering what it felt like to be full after a meal. It made her parents and friends happy though. Years of sickness had whittled almost any fat or muscle off of her body until she finally, truly, recovered.

Secondly, there was nausea. At first it was manageable. Catching a whiff from foods she had never seemed to care for anyway turned her stomach for a minute or two, but she pulled through it. But just last week the smell of her mother frying bacon had her putting her head between her knees for a full ten minutes before her stomach settled long enough for her to venture downstairs.

The _coup de gras_ came yesterday, when she finally found herself alone to allow herself one, good crying jag over her breakup with Roman. Julia, Lukas, and Taylor had kept her busy since she'd told them, dragging her with them everywhere. It was obvious Taylor was doing so to keep herself occupied, though from what she never said. Emery didn't push it. She was grateful to have her former friend's company.

But anyway, yesterday. She locked the front door, turned off her cell phone, laid down on her bed and let out the sadness and anger she had held in for the last month. She was still sad and angry when it was over, but she knew it was better that even some of it had been alleviated, if only temporarily. A car pulling into the driveway told her one or both of her parents were home, and so she walked into the bathroom to wash away the evidence. And there they were, plain as day.

Glowing tears. Their trail down her cheeks was faint now, but they were still gathered in her eyes.

_That _put the fear of God into her. Truth be told, her first thought was _Oh, Hell. Did I get a weird, Atrian STD? _The front door opening downstairs reminded her that she didn't have time to think it over. But in her hurry to get a clean washcloth, she knocked over a basket full of toiletries. Cursing her clumsiness, Emery bent to quickly push everything back in.

And that's when she saw it. A brand new box of tampons. And that made her start counting the days. And that made her realize. She was a week late. And ever since her recovery, her period was like clockwork. And then everything clicked into place. The nausea, the eating, and, hopefully, the glowing tears.

She drove into Baton Rouge to get a pregnancy test. And then she drove to another store to buy a second test. And then a third. Hey, she wanted be sure. Not to mention if she'd bought the tests from a pharmacy in Edendale, a quarter of the town would have found out before she had even pulled out of the parking lot.

_But it was just one time_, Emery thought. Sex Ed. came back in full force in her mind. _All it takes is one time_. And one time was all Roman and Emery had allowed themselves.

The memory came back in full force. She and Roman, just walking to her home. Roughly a week before the hurricane, before Castor had revealed their relationship to all Atrians.

It was just after dark, with almost no one on the streets, so they felt free to hold hands. The next thing they knew, the rain that had threatened Edendale all day fell. Not particularly hard, just a pleasant shower. Either way, they were already mostly soaked through as they ran the last block to her house. They were laughing as Emery unlocked her front door and they plowed through straight to the kitchen, grabbing towels from the dryer.

Even with her hair plastered to her head and her very light makeup running, Roman was looking at her like she'd just dropped down from heaven. Of course he usually looked at her like that. He had pushed her hair back from her face, and was carefully cupping her cheek in his hand, leaning in but uncertainty swam in his eyes. She was the one who completed the embrace, leaning into him and kissing him.

His arms went around her waist, pulling her closer. Her arms went around his shoulders, pulling herself closer still. _We should have stopped there, _Emery thought. They didn't. The rain outside, the setting, the mood. They lost themselves in each other.

Emery remembered leading Roman up the stairs to her bedroom. She remembered that they took their time removing their each piece of their clothing, drinking in the scene before each other. She remembered that it was like she'd always hoped her first time had been, however cheesy and goofy that might sound. Afterwards they'd just laid together, Roman stretched out carefully across Emery, his head resting on her chest, listening to her single heart.

For a while, Roman wasn't the future leader of all Atrians. For a while, Emery didn't have a large target from two sides on her back. For a while they just were. Until the alarm on Roman's watch went off, telling them they had ten minutes until Roman had to be back on the bus to the sector.

They'd felt so carefree afterwards, kissing passionately in her car before driving back to the Bug so Roman could rejoin his friends.

A timer brought Emery out of her reverie. The test should show its results now.

Fear, anger, and frustration all slammed down on her at once. She pushed them all back before she picked up the test. She did let out a little sob and sat down hard on her bed when the results showed a large plus sign.

There was no denying it now. She was pregnant. With Roman's child. She let the fear, the anger, and the frustration slam back down on her now. Tears flowed freely. And yet among them there was a little nugget of... hope. And with the hope... love. She felt her lips tugging up into a smile through her tears. She loved her baby. Already.

Emery brushed the tears away, resolve flooding her. She knew that there were very few people who would look at her pregnancy as a good thing. _Very _few. She also knew that she would fight, tooth and nail, to protect her baby. But the first's things first. To tell people.

Emery ran through the very short list in her mind. And was surprised with her first choice.

A door opening down the hallway reminded Emery that she was supposed to be in bed. It was, after all, midnight on a Tuesday. Well, Wednesday now. Her choice made, Emery put the used test pack into the box and put it in her purse, where she knew neither of her parents would find it until she could throw it away. That done, she climbed under her bed covers, and fell into a fitful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child**_

_**Sophia Loren**_

Emery laid awake in bed, watching the sun rise through the gap in her curtains. She wasn't awake because she was an early riser. She was awake because she'd never gone to sleep, not for very long anyway. Her problems in her waking state were wreaking having on her subconscious state, filling her dreams with pictures of Redhawks and Atrians at war, with her baby right in the middle.

A week had passed since her discovery of her pregnancy. And today, she had decided, was the day she had to steel her nerves and let the chips fall where they may. Today was the day she was going to reveal her pregnancy

Emery wasn't ashamed. As far as she was concerned, she didn't have anything to ashamed of. She didn't regret a second of the love she and Roman had shared with one another. And she was looking forward to the day that they wouldn't have to hide it. Her only fear was of the backlash that would surely be directed at their innocent baby.

Her alarm clock sounded off its shrill, irritating buzz. Emery sighed before she reached out to turn it off. _Come on, baby. __Time to face the big bad world we live in._

* * *

_Have these shorts always been so tight?_ Emery asked herself. She couldn't remember. And then she wanted to laugh out loud for worrying about her clothes. And then she reminded herself not to. She couldn't draw any undue attention to herself. Instead she pressed her lips tightly together and made herself watch the people around her.

There seemed be very few not wrapped up in the Winter Blast dance. She remembered Taylor and Julia discussing it yesterday. Well, kind of. Mostly Taylor talked about it, while Julia managed to interject a word now and then, while Emery nodded and pretended she was listening.

Hey, she had a little more important situation on hand.

She was so distracted by trying to appear normal that she walked right into another person. "Oh! Sorry." The automatic apology caught in her throat as she saw that it was Roman she'd walked into.

"Hi." _I'm pregnant_. She wanted to slap herself.

"Hi." Roman got quiet after, simply looking at her_. Oh God,_ she thought._ He can tell!_ Her sleep-deprived, fearful self thought. _No_,_ no he can't that's stupid. Talk about something. ANYTHING._

"Every year students come up with elaborate ways to ask each other to the Winter Blast Dance."

"Well, that explains why I saw Frosty the Snowman at the urinal practicing his Shakespeare." Emery smiled, glad for the excuse to. "And you guys think our traditions are bizarre?"

_She looks TERRIBLE, _Roman thought. She seemed thin, and pale. Dark shadows that she'd tried to disguise with makeup hung underneath her eyes. Her hair seemed dull and lank. He remembered her illness, immune deficiency, he believed it was called, and wondered if that working its way through his Emery's system again.

Yeah, that's right. HIS Emery. He didn't care what anyone else said. As far as he was concerned, she was his, just as much as he was hers. And when the day came that they could be together, out in the open, he had many a plan to show it.

"How's the Sector? How are you? Are you safe?" Roman smiled. They were broken up and she still wanted to protect him. "You don't really have to worry about me anymore." Never mind that his current problems would give her plenty to worry about. Today after school he had to tell the _Hwatab_ the truth about Castor, and hope they believed him.

"Your uncle, Castor, is a homicidal maniac. Your terrorist ex-girlfriend drugged you so..." Emery looked down momentarily "Yeah. I worry."

"Emery.." It hurt to say it. "You're the one who said that we'd be better off apart." She nodded in remembrance. "Have fun at the dance." _But not too much fun._

* * *

Emery had planned to wait until the end of the day. But time was moving SO slowly. And she was just passing through the hallways and her classes, being there physically but not mentally. She felt Roman's eyes on her in every class they shared.

Julia had noticed her best friend's state, and had attempted to question her multiple times, only to finally hold her questions at bay by Emery's promise that she would tell her the truth. By lunch time, she couldn't stand it.

She walked to Gloria Garcia's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Gloria looked up from her computer to see Emery Whitehill walk through her door and smiled in greeting. "Emery. This is a nice surprise. Sit down. Is there a problem?"

Emery gave a small, uncertain smile. "No. Yes. Maybe." She was breathing heavily through her nose, like she had just ran a marathon. "I'm pregnant."

Gloria was at a loss. Why would Emery come to her with this? And then realization dawned on her. "The baby is Roman's, isn't it?" Emery nodded, unable to meet Gloria's eyes.

Gloria's first instinct was to yell at the girl, tell her how damaging for integration this was. How people would think that Atrians were preying on young human girls. Not to mention how damaging for Emery and Roman's futures in general. She was ramping up for it to. Gloria stepped around her desk so she could say so to Emery's face. And then she saw it.

How Emery sat straight up on the edge of her seat, ready for a fight. The deep circles under her eyes, speaking of several sleepless nights. Not to mention her pallid skin tone.

_Oh, the poor thing looks terrible. I think she's already thought of this. _Gloria realized. "Have you told Roman? Or your parent's?" Emery shook her head. And then Gloria realized how afraid Emery had to be for the girl to come to her before the father of the child, or even her own parent's. _I think what Emery needs now is a little understanding. After all,_ Gloria thought wryly, _ who else knows better about what she's going through?_

So Gloria choose not say any of those things. Instead she choose to stand next to Emery's chair and put her hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be all right."

It was far from what Emery expected. She had expected yelling, anger, even outright rage from the lovely government liaison. Instead her calm and, apparent, acceptance of Emery's situation made her relax. At least, she relaxed until Gloria spoke again.

"When do you want to tell Roman?"

* * *

_**I will happily take any advice about my story under consideration. Cause so far these chapters are all I have.**_

_**What should the Romery baby be? Boy or Girl?**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Hate; it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet._**

**_Maya Angelou_**

Grayson Montrose was a big enough man to admit that he could be a sore loser. Especially when he believed his opponent had an unfair advantage. This extended to many aspects of his life.

Take his relationship with Emery, for example. She had the biggest heart of anyone he had ever met. He had cared about her in a way than he ever had before. And she had seemed to care for him as well, even if she did constantly friend-zone him and turn to Roman. That had _really_ rubbed him the wrong way, especially when it became obvious that Roman didn't want her. But he hadn't worried about that. He'd had no doubt that eventually Emery would come to her senses and see that he was the guy for her.

And then she had put his mother in jail. And then he caught her _kissing _Roman, when she was _supposed_ to be with him. But, in the grand scheme of things, he couldn't blame her, not really. Because she had done it for the sake of those _tatties._

And then everything his parents had ever told him about the Atrians had all started to make sense. They didn't belong here. If they had never come, then everything would be as it was supposed to be. His brother would be alive. His family wouldn't be split in half. And Emery would be his. Those freaks were taking advantage of that big heart of hers, plain and simple.

And he did care for Emery, still. It wasn't her fault his mother went to jail. It was the Atrians. At the end of the day, it all went back to the Atrians. Especially Roman. Grayson had tried to explain this to Emery, the day of the hurricane, that they couldn't be trusted. Until her murdering tattie boyfriend freaked out on him and had to be pulled away by his equally murderous roided up guard dog. So, Grayson had decided that he would be there protect her, even if she didn't know it.

He followed her almost everywhere, always staying as far out of her peripheral vision as possible. Eric had started to notice the sleep he'd lost staying awake to watch Emery at her home.

Anyway, he'd noticed long before anyone else that something was wrong with Emery. So he didn't see anything wrong with rescuing the small box that she had thrown into the nearest trash can at school before walking into Gloria Garcia's office and taking a look at its contents in the safety of his bedroom after school.

The positive signs on all three pregnancy tests nearly gave Grayson a heart attack. He threw them away from him in disgust. Then he just threw things. The lamp resting on his desk, books, shoes, whatever was closest.

When his rage had abetted, he sat down in the middle of carnage and thought out his next move.

He couldn't tell his new Redhawks about Emery. They might want to hurt her because of, of... the _thing _that was apparently growing in her belly. And this wasn't her fault. That freak tattie took advantage of her. After all, they clearly weren't above murdering humans. Raping them was probably nothing. Yeah, rape explained Emery's behavior perfectly.

No. No, he would have to take care of the problem himself. Emery might be afraid in the beginning, but over time she would see that he just had her best interests at heart.

* * *

"You've got nothing to worry about." Drake said to Roman, who gave a small in acknowledgement of the encouragement, but privately he thought _Yeah, wouldn't that be a nice change of pace. _His thoughts were, as usual, with Emery. "Where's your mom?"

"She promised she would be here. Just trust her." Drake's silence let Roman fall back into his thoughts. He had seen Emery walk into Gloria's office. He had half wanted to put his ear up to the door and listen. The other half wanted to walk right in and demand to know what was wrong. For something had to be wrong for his love to pay a visit to his Father's human mistress. Instead he had just walked into the cafeteria, and sat down to lunch with his friends and sister.

"Hey, there she is." Drake's voice pulled him back. And he was right. The blonde _Vwasak_ was weaving her way through the crowd of the market. Meanwhile, the _Vwasak _standing guard waved them into The House of Cards; the _Hwatab _was ready for them.

* * *

"Castor murdered our ship's captain." Roman was proud that Saroya's voice betrayed none of the fear he knew she to had to have felt. But then again, she was a _Vwasak_, and he was just a _Zwahan_. "That's why we crashed." The _Hwatab_, for their part, looked shocked, turning to one another in disbelief. "And when I found out about it and threatened to expose him, he had me sent to the crate."

Castor's smile was confident and oily as he stood. "Saroya. Where is this coming from? These lies?"

"You know exactly where this is coming from; you're a traitor!" The infamous _Vwasak_ temper was rearing its ugly head. Roman stepped forward, putting his hand on her shoulder. Saroya looked to him before calming and quieting under the touch.

"She's telling the truth. I've seen it, on the ship's _mirzahn_." Roman had to put in his two cents, for whatever they were worth. And apparently they were still worth something, because the council looked to each other with interest.

"And where is the _mirzahn _now?" The _Swamahd_ elder asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"No doubt Castor has destroyed it by now." The elder back in disappointment. Castor was still smiling. "You see? They have no proof. They know it."

That made the _Iwabas _elder turn to give him the piercing glare only an _Iwabas_ woman could give. "And yet they still came to speak, did they not?" Castor's smile slipped slightly. The elders looked to each other, speaking to each other with looks. The _Swamahd _elder stood.

"You know we cannot ignore these serious allegations, Castor, especially with your history. Until we have proof of either guilt or innocence, you are stripped of your authority."

* * *

"I hate to put a damper on things, but we may have another problem." Saroya's words did exactly that. Roman, who had been grinning like a fool, felt like he was on top of the world, and all those hyperboles, looked to her in concern. "It's about the _Suvek_, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

Drake looked to Roman before saying "We saw Teri and some guys bringing equipment into the sector, the night of the hurricane. And then I remembered how Vega asked you to build something called a _Suvek_." Drake's voice was thick with disappointment for his mother. Roman turned away slightly, feeling like an intruder on a family issue.

"You said you'd never help the _Trags_. How could you lie to me?"

"I didn't have a choice, Drake. Vega agreed to protect us both from Castor if I helped her build the _Suvek_! You were in danger, what else could I do?" Saroya's voice and eyes begged for understanding.

"Once you finish, Vega's not gonna have any use for you anymore! What happens to you then?" Roman knew that if they were in private, Drake's voice would be much louder.

"Drake, I don't expect you to understand." Roman stepped forward then, interjecting himself between mother and son, telling Drake, "She's risking her life telling us, Drake. That counts in my book." Then he turned to Saroya. "What can you tell us about the _Suvek_?"

"That it's almost finished. I've going as slow as I can but I think Vega's starting to notice. It could be any day now."

"Well, at least that buys us enough time to figure out how to stop them. While the _Hwatab _do their digging into Castor." Roman looked around then, suddenly hyper-aware of their surroundings. "I'll come by your pod later. Too many people can hear us out in the open." Saroya nodded. Drake was too busy standing stony-faced in anger.

"Drake, I don't expect you to understand. I _need _you to trust me."

Drake just walked off in the direction of his pod. Saroya sighed, gave Roman a quick nod, then followed after him.

Roman, meanwhile, walked away with confidence in his step. Castor no longer had power in the Sector. They knew about the _Suvek_, and were forming a plan to take care of it. And tomorrow he was going to suck it up and ask Emery what was wrong with her.

Yeah, things were actually going his way for once.

Of course, it all went straight to Hell.

* * *

_**And now there's the bomb in Roman's backpack. And so you know, when you next read Roman's POV, it will be later at the dance. Otherwise, I'd just be retelling the episode.**_

_**And if anyone knows if I'm wrong about Roman being a Zwahan, would they please let me know?**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Fight your fears and you'll be in battle forever; Face your fears, and you'll be free forever_**

**_Lucas Jonkman_**

Sophia, Julia, Lukas and Taylor the next on Emery's list, in the Bug, where they couldn't shout. After all, Sophia was the baby's aunt. And Julia and Lukas were her best friends. Taylor was... Emery wasn't really sure what Taylor was, but instinct told Emery to trust her.

To say they were surprised would be an understatement. When Emery named the father, the surprise went straight to shock. Like jaw-dropping, no words for it, shock.

Taylor was the one who recovered the quickest. "Damn. I would have expected this from me! Not you." It broke the ice immediately, drawing laughter from the group. It made Emery happy she told Taylor, even though she spent the next hour irritating Emery by looking at bogus websites about Atrian/Human pregnancies, freaking out at the lies.

Julia and Lukas mostly babbled, unsure exactly how to take the news. Though they did their best to keep the mood light and happy, picking at Emery for all the plates of food she ate or sent back to the kitchen.

Emery was the most grateful to Sophia, who managed to keep it together, at least long enough to explain an Atrian pregnancy to her.

Roman's entrance into the Bug lead to Emery's hasty exit. She saw the blood on his shirt. She saw how he and Drake walked right past everyone to a table in the back, far from eavesdroppers and prying eyes. She knew something had happened in the Sector. But if he wasn't ready to tell her his problems, then she wasn't ready to tell him hers. Even if her problem was one of his problems.

Was it petty? Probably. Hey, Emery was still a teenager.

And she hadn't really wanted to go to the Winter Blast dance, with Lukas or anyone, but, as they had all pointed out, she had to keep up an air of normality. That was how she found herself in the crowded gym, drinking lukewarm punch with Julia, while Lukas had a 'come to Jesus' talk with the DJ.

She hoped no one noticed how she stiffened up when Grayson approached her. "Emery! I need to ask you something." She didn't want to but, hey, normality, normality, normality. "Are you pregnant?"

Grayson didn't miss that momentary flare of panic in her eyes. "What? Were did you here that?" His next words came out with the smooth ease of practice."Vartan told me-"

"Vartan? He's part of your new improved Redhawks."

Indignation flared up. "No he's not. He's not a part of what we're trying to do, and you still haven't answered my question."

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. I'm not pregnant."

_Liar. Oh, wait, she's still talking. _"And if you're trying to convince me that your club is any different, going around asking if I'm knocked up isn't exactly helping your cause." _Of course you wouldn't tell the truth. God knows what those Tatties threatened you with if you did otherwise. It's okay, Emery. It's gonna be okay. _Grayson started to tell her so, until he realized she was already walking away.

Meanwhile, fear was pressing heavily on Emery's chest, making every breath a strain._ Oh God. Oh, God, oh God, oh God, oh God. What? How? NORMALITY! Normality, normality. Oh screw it._

She had to tell one of her friends, so they wouldn't worry over her hasty exit. Sophia was the first person she saw. "I need to get out of here."

"What, why?"

"I think the Redhawks are on to me." The word 'Redhawks' stopped all of Sophia's questions. She tucked Emery's arm under her's, and walked over to the exit, maintaining a placid exterior. Taylor up the stage startled them. "Hello Marshall!" Everyone stood still and turned their attention to her, forcing the girls to stop and do the same.

Sophia squeezing Emery's arm made her realize that she had started bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

When Taylor paused in the middle of her speech, looking to the entrance, Emery looked to what had her attention. Roman. Roman and Drake, but still, Roman. She wanted to go to him, to fall into his arms, and let the world figure itself out. Very anti-feminist but, screw it. Emery was kinda having a crisis.

"I need to talk to your brother." Sophia looked worried, but nodded, and released her arm.

* * *

Roman, meanwhile, worried about the plan. Saroya had given them the low-down on the _Suvek_, telling them everything they might have needed to know. Drake had made sure to plant the grenades inside the _Suvek, _as the paneling from the ship would protect the outside. And Vega and the Trags were probably hunting down Castor at this very moment.

Roman did feel guilty for the destruction to the _Iwabas_ gardens. The gardens were sacred to them, like a church was to humans. But, hey, grand scheme of things.

But it was the _wait_ that was really driving Roman crazy. "I wish we knew what was going on inside the Sector."

Drake stood with confidence. He was still angry with his mother for her lies, but that she helped them soothed him slightly. Right now his attention was on Taylor, across the room, in the arms of some pencil thin human Drake wanted to so dearly snap in two. "Vega's probably mounting Castor's head on her wall. Relax."

Emery. There was Emery, coming towards him, out of the sea of people. He wondered if the gems on her face were for fashion or a nod to the Atrians. It would be just like her.

"I need to talk to you."

"I'll go grab a drink." That Drake so clearly thought he was helping set Roman's teeth on edge. He knew how bad it was for them to be together. Roman was turning away from Emery as he spoke. "I'm sorry, Emery, we can't-"

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

_**Sorry for the delay. Thunderstorms here where I live have made the power flicker for about a week now. Twice it cost me a good days work.**_

_**What should the Romery baby be? Boy or Girl?**_


	5. Chapter 5

**_It is much easier to become a father than it is to be one_**

**_Kent Nerburn_**

_No. No, no, please God no._ "And now I have to go." _What! Are you **kidding** me?_ He grabbed her arm as she turned away. "Wait, wait-"

"No, Roman. Not here, not now. **Please**. It's not safe." Then he noticed how Emery's eyes went from side to side constantly, never stopping. That got his attention. It made him look around in paranoia. Unfortunately, Emery took the opportunity to slip free from his grasp and pull away to join hands with Sophia.

Roman stayed rooted in place.

* * *

_This **sucks**! _Drake thought. Not about the _Suvek_. Not about the Trags, and Castor's inevitable demise, like Roman so clearly was. He wasn't even thinking about his mother's betrayal.

He was thinking about how wrong Taylor looked pressed up against the human boy, the fifth in the last hour or so. He couldn't say with certainty what this ones name was, just that he was a bit more muscular than the last one, though he had nothing on Drake's bulk.

_I bet I could take him, easy_, Drake thought. He considered it too. But he didn't. He did damn Grayson Montrose to the seventh circle of Hell for leaving him no choice but to end his... relationship, if that was the right word for it, with Taylor.

That she seemed so indifferent really stung Drake. _At least one of us will get what we want tonight_, Drake thought, drinking watered down punch. He was, of course, referring to Roman.

Drake was no fool. He knew that Roman was upset about Emery. And he felt for him. Even the stubborn _Vwasak_ couldn't help but worry, looking at the human girl for the past few days. That was why, despite the dirty look Roman had given him as he'd walked off, he gave them time to talk.

Looking back up, he saw Taylor had moved on to yet another boy. _Yeah_, Drake thought. _Hopefully one of us will get what we want tonight_. And then Drake saw Roman's face as he stomped over to the table Drake occupied.

"What's wrong?"

Emery didn't scare easily. If anything, she was fearless, bordering on carelessness. That she had been so afraid of **something **made Roman edgy. "Not here. Later."

The look on Roman's face made Drake decide against arguing.

* * *

It was only when they had to load back onto the Sector bus, the boys in the very back, Sophia turned around to look at them in the seat in front, that Drake spoke again. "All right. I've let you sulk all through our alibi, which was a real picnic, by the way. Now, out with it."

Roman, who had sat hunched forward, his elbows on his knees, his clasped hands pressed to his mouth, looked from Drake to Sophia. This was a look they were both familiar with. Roman was passing judgment. Judging whether he could trust them with whatever it was that was bothering him. It made Drake sigh in annoyance. "Really?"

They held a staring contest. Sophia huffed in annoyance at her brother's stubbornness. Neither boy was willing to break away first. Finally, when the bus was pulling up to the Sector gate, Roman sighed deeply through his nose, sat back in the seat and said, in a hushed tone, "Emery's pregnant."

Sophia's face was impassive. Drake was speechless. Well, kinda. Many an innuendo came to his mind, and it was only respect for his best friend, and a growing fondness for the human girl who had always stood up for the Atrians that kept them from coming out. "Oh."

The dam broke. Everything Roman had held inside of him for the last three hours flowed out all at once. "Oh!? **Oh**!? Emery is **pregnant**. She already has a target from both sides on her. And now? All Hell is going to break loose for the Atrians if anyone finds out. There's no telling what will happen. To the Atrians, to her, or to our... baby." He kinda choked on the last word.

"She's thought of that too you know." Sophia retorted. Just a glance at her face was enough for Roman. "You knew?" Sophia shrugged. "She told me, Taylor, Julia and Lucas this afternoon."

"Why didn't she come to me first?"

"Maybe because she wanted to figure out the best way to tell you. She's just as afraid as you are, Roman. But you know what? She's not sitting around moping about it." Sophia turned around in her seat, frustrated at Roman's apparent selfishness. That Drake said nothing worried Roman more than if he had spoken at all.

Saroya met them at the gate, a smile on her face. Sophia walked past her to her family's pod, wanting some distance from her brother. Saroya walked forward to the boys. "The _Suvek_ is obliterated. Vega is furious, and she has no idea we were behind it."

When Roman didn't speak, Drake stepped forward. "What about Castor?"

Saroya gave a shrug of indifference. "Nobody's seen him since."

* * *

Emery did take Gloria Garcia up on one of her offers. That's how she ended up knocking on the Whitehill's door on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Emery opened the door, wearing a black long-sleeved dress, tights and boots that only emphasized her paleness.

"They're in the living room", Emery said, leading the way to her parents sitting on the couch.

"Ms. Garcia. This is a nice surprise. What can we do for you?" Ray Whitehill asked, immediately telling Gloria that they had no idea about Emery's... condition.

"I asked her to come here." Gloria was impressed by how brave Emery was behaving. She didn't drag her feet or stand to the side of Gloria. Instead she held her head up and stood right in front of her parents. Anyhow, she had their attention. "What for?", her mother asked.

"Because. I'm pregnant."

Michelle's face went blank. Ray scoffed. "No you're not."

"Yes, yes I am." The amusement slowly started to slide off Ray's face. He became more insistent. "No, you're not."

"Dad, you think I'd make this up?"

"Well, who's the father?" Anger was clear on his face now. His eyes landed on Gloria. "It's him, isn't? That, that... **tattie** you've been seeing?"

"Dad!"

"Mr. Whitehill, I think you need to-" Gloria started to say.

"I think you need to shut your mouth!" Ray jumped off the couch, grabbing Emery's arm and dragging her to the front door. "Where are we going?", she asked him. "To a doctor to get that **thing** out of you!"

"Mr. Whitehill!"

"Ray, that's enough!" Since Michelle Whitehill rarely raised her voice, she got her family's attention. Ray looked from her to Emery, before throwing Emery's arm away liked it burned him. He grabbed his keys from the hallway table before storming out the door.

Emery's eyes were watering up. "Maybe you should go, Ms. Garcia." She did. It was obvious that there was nothing she could offer to help. She stopped at the door though, turning back to Emery. "Let me see your phone?" Emery held it up. A little beep told her that she now had Gloria Garcia as a contact. "If you need anything. Please don't hesitate."

Michelle was still sitting on the couch, her head resting on her knuckles. That she hadn't said anything didn't really worry Emery. Michelle had always been the strong silent type. "Mom? Are you okay." Michelle gave a humorless chuckle. "My only child is pregnant at sixteen. Moreover, she's pregnant by an alien. And there's no telling what a normal pregnancy would do to her health, let alone a half-alien one. Did I get all that?"

Emery sat down next to her, tucking her feet up under her. "Yeah pretty much." Michelle sighed once, then grabbed Emery's hand. "Well, here's what I know. I've come very close to losing you before. And I didn't have a say it then. I do now. And I chose whatever lets me keep you."

* * *

_**Sorry it took so long. This chapter was difficult.**_

_**Next week I'll be on vacation with my family, so the next chapter will probably be the week or so after.**_


End file.
